Exempts medical alert devices and services from sales and use tax.

S3516

SENATE, No. 3516

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 12, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANTHONY M. BUCCO

District 25 (Morris and Passaic)

Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Exempts medical alert devices and services from sales
and use tax.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
exempting medical alert devices and services from the
sales and use tax, amending P.L.1980, c.105.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.���
Section
13 of P.L.1980, c.105 (C.54:32B-8.1) is amended to read as follows:

���� 13. a. Receipts from sales of
the following sold for human use are exempt from the tax imposed under the
"Sales and Use Tax Act":

���� (1)�� drugs sold pursuant to a
doctor's prescription;

���� (2)�� over-the-counter drugs;

���� (3)�� diabetic supplies;

���� (4)�� prosthetic devices;

���� (5)�� tampons or like
products;

���� (6)�� medical oxygen;

���� (7)�� human blood and its
derivatives;

���� (8)�� durable medical
equipment for home use;

���� (9)�� mobility enhancing
equipment sold by prescription;
[
and
]

���� (10)�
medical alert devices
and medical alert services; and

����
(11)
� repair and
replacement parts for any of the foregoing exempt devices and equipment.

���� b.��� As used in this section:

����
"Assistance
operator" means a person who is authorized by a subscriber of a medical
alert service to:

����
(1)�� receive
a signal from or communicate with the subscriber when the subscriber uses a
medical alert device; and

����
(2)�� contact
one or more emergency responders, caregivers of the subscriber, family members
of the subscriber, or any combination of these individuals, on the subscriber�s
behalf when the subscriber uses a medical alert device.

����
"Drug"
means a compound, substance, or preparation, and any component of a compound,
substance, or preparation, other than food and food ingredients, dietary
supplements, or alcoholic beverages:

���� (1)�� recognized in the
official United States Pharmacopoeia, official Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the
United States, or official National Formulary, and supplement to any of them;
or

���� (2)�� intended for use in the
diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease; or

���� (3)�� intended to affect the
structure or any function of the body.

���� "Over-the-counter-drug"
means a drug that contains a label which identifies the product as a drug,
required by 21 CFR 201.66.� The label includes:

���� (1)�� a "Drug Facts"
panel or

���� (2)�� a statement of the
"active ingredient" or "active ingredients" with a list of
those ingredients contained in the compound, substance or preparation.
"Over-the-counter drug" does not include a grooming and hygiene
product.

���� "Grooming and hygiene
product" is soap or cleaning solution, shampoo, toothpaste, mouthwash,
anti-perspirant, or sun tan lotion or screen, regardless of whether the item
meets the definition of "over-the-counter drug."

����
"Prescription"
means an order, formula, or recipe issued in any form of oral, written,
electronic, or other means of transmission by a duly licensed practitioner
authorized by the laws of this State.

���� "Prosthetic device"
means a replacement, corrective, or supportive device including repair and
replacement parts for same worn on or in the body in order to:

���� (1)�� artificially replace a
missing portion of the body; or

���� (2)�� prevent or correct a
physical disability; or

���� (3)�� support a weak or
disabled portion of the body.����

���� "Durable medical
equipment" means equipment, including repair and replacement parts, but
not including mobility enhancing equipment, that:

���� (1)�� can withstand repeated
use;

���� (2)�� is primarily and
customarily used to serve a medical purpose;

���� (3)�� is generally not useful
to a person in the absence of illness or injury; and

���� (4)�� is not worn in or on the
body.

����
"Medical alert device"
means an electronic device that allows or causes a subscriber of a medical
alert service to send a signal to or communicate with an assistance operator.

����
"Medical alert
service" means a service that provides a subscriber of the service with a
medical alert device and access to an assistance operator who is authorized by
the subscriber to contact one or more emergency responders, caregivers of the
subscriber, family members of the subscriber, or any combination of these
individuals, on the subscriber�s behalf when the subscriber uses a medical
alert device.

���� "Mobility enhancing
equipment" means equipment, including repair and replacement parts, other
than durable medical equipment, that:

���� (1)�� is primarily and
customarily used to provide or increase the ability to move from one place to
another and which is appropriate for use either at home or in a motor vehicle;
and

���� (2)�� is not generally used by
persons with typical mobility; and

���� (3)�� does not include any
motor vehicle or equipment on a motor vehicle normally provided by a motor
vehicle manufacturer.

���� c.���� Receipts from sales of
supplies purchased for use in providing medical services for compensation, but
not transferred to the purchaser of the service in conjunction with the
performance of the service, shall be considered taxable receipts from retail
sales notwithstanding the exemption from the tax imposed under the "Sales
and Use Tax Act" provided under this section.

(cf: P.L.2017, c.131, s.214)

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect the first day of the second month next following enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill exempts medical
alert devices and services from sales and use tax.� As defined in the bill,
"medical alert device" means an electronic device that allows or
causes a subscriber, meaning a person with a subscription to a medical alert
service, to send a signal to or communicate with an assistance operator.� "Medical
alert service" is defined as a service that provides a subscriber with a
medical alert device and access to an assistance operator who is authorized by
the subscriber to contact one or more medical alert responders on the
subscriber�s behalf when the subscriber uses a medical alert device.� Exempting
medical alert devices and services from sales tax will help make these devices
and services more affordable and accessible to the elderly and other vulnerable
populations in New Jersey.